Bankruptcies Rise Amid Federal Pandemic Relief Expiration

As the end of federal pandemic relief puts many Americans and businesses under mounting financial pressure, bankruptcies have seen a sharp rise in the fourth quarter of 2022. According to new data, the number of bankruptcy declarations among EU businesses was the highest since 2015, increasing by 26.8% compared with the previous quarter. The sectors with the largest increases in the number of bankruptcies compared with the fourth quarter of 2019 were accommodation and food services (+97.7%) and transportation and storage (+85.7%). All sectors registered increases in the number of bankruptcies in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter, with transportation and storage (+72.2%), accommodation and food services (+39.4%) and education, health and social activities (+29.5%) registering the highest increases. With rising interest rates and high inflation continuing to stress household budgets, business registrations slightly decreased by 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with the previous quarter.^[0] However, business registrations levels in all four quarters of 2022 were still higher than during the pre-COVID pandemic period 2015-2019.^[1]

0. “Businesses in the EU going bankrupt at unprecedented rate – EUToday” EU Today, 17 Feb. 2023, https://eutoday.net/businesses-in-the-eu-going-bankrupt-at-unprecedented-rate/

1. “Q4 2022: Business bankruptcies highest since 2015 – Products Eurostat News – Eurostat” European Commission, 17 Feb. 2023, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20220217-2